Jury deliberating in case of suspended Jefferson County District Attorney

The case of suspended Jefferson County District Attorney Charles Todd Henderson is now in the hands of a jury.

Closing arguments were held Thursday afternoon, and the jury began deliberations at approximately 5:40 p.m. Jurors deliberated until approximately 8:40 p.m., before they were dismissed. Deliberations will resume at 9 a.m. Friday.

In the third day of testimony Thursday morning, the judge who presided over the divorce hearing where Henderson's charge originated testified.

Henderson's perjury case is based on allegations he was in a relationship with Yareima Carmen Valecillos Akl during her divorce with then-husband Charbel Akl.

Henderson was appointed in January 2016 as the guardian ad litem, or GAL, for the Akls' young child. He was later removed from the position after Jefferson County Circuit Judge Patricia Stephens, who was presiding over the divorce case, learned Mrs. Akl was working on Henderson's campaign.

After his removal, Henderson testified during the Akls' September divorce trial. Transcripts show Henderson twice denied staying with Mrs. Akl at her apartment, but surveillance evidence showed Henderson had stayed at the apartment on several occasions.

Henderson was indicted on the perjury charge just days before he was set to take office as Jefferson County District Attorney. Henderson, a Democrat, beat incumbent Republican Brandon Falls for the seat.

In her testimony, Stephens said that "there would not have been a [guardian ad litem] appointment" for Henderson if she knew of his relationship with Mrs. Akl. Mrs. Akl's attorneys requested Henderson be appointed as GAL, and Stephens granted their order in January 2016. He was removed from the position in May.

According to Stephens, Mr. Akl's attorney Virginia Meigs opposed a GAL being appointed at all because the couple did not have the money to pay for one.

Stephens said before appointing Henderson as the Akls' child's GAL, she did not know of any relationship, or acquaintanceship, between Henderson and Mrs. Akl. If she knew that the two knew each other, she would not have appointed him.

"I need a [GAL] who will tell me the good, the bad, and the ugly about each parent," she said.

Stephens said she was in "stunned disbelief" after she learned of Henderson's and Mrs. Akl's relationship at the September 26, 2016 hearing, where he denied staying the night with her.

"In just a regular case the question is... is this parent fit? Is this parent going to do what's in the best interest of this child? Is this parent going to make sure this child receives the proper care and everything that is so essential to the development of a child?" Stephens said.

She continued, "In this particular situation... is this an attempt to manipulate the court? To mislead the court? Now I take what I do very serious. I take my reputation as a judge very serious. And if someone comes before me and there's an attempt to manipulate the court or any way to influence the court in a way it shouldn't be influenced, then it's very, very serious."

Stephens said following the question at the September 26 hearing where Henderson twice answered "no" to spending the night at Mrs. Akl's apartment, she brought attorneys for both parties into her chambers to see "where we were going with [Meig's] questioning."

After the hearing, Stephens granted temporary custody of the child to Mr. Akl. Her order also stated Henderson was not to be in contact with the Akl child.

"At that point, my concern is that minor child. Who is this person in my life? Who is this person who was my lawyer and is still in our lives?" she said. Stephens said after Henderson was removed as GAL, "I thought that would be the end of his contact with that child."

The prosecution, led by Assistant Alabama Attorney Generals Matt Hart and Kyle Beckman, rested their case after lunch. The defense team, led by Joe Espy and James Parkman, rested their case without calling any witnesses.

In closing statements, Beckman said the jury should "use common sense" when deliberating. "Ladies and gentlemen, this is a perjury case.... you've heard the whole story."

Beckman said the evidence presented this week shows Henderson intentionally lied about his relationship with Mrs. Akl, and that he knew her in some way before he requested to be the Akl child's GAL in January 2016.

Beckman also said Stephens' order for a change of custody to the Mr. Akl shows that Henderson's testimony and relationship with Mrs. Akl was material to the proceeding. "Don't think for a minute this didn't have a huge impact," Beckman said.

"The picture speaks for itself. The evidence speaks for itself. The transcript speaks for itself," Hart said. The September testimony is "utterly material," Hart said.

Parkman made the closing statement for Henderson's defense. He said the prosecution team has only presented evidence related to its case, and "put it in a box" for the jury.

"There's not one hole in their box, theres a lot of holes in their box," Parkman said.

Parkman also said Henderson was not bias toward Mrs. Akl--while GAL, Parkman said Henderson refuted a filing by Mrs. Akl's attorney that the child was afraid of her father. "This person he's supposed to be bias toward... he's just called their side a liar... that is not biased for the mama," Parkman said.

He said the September 26 testimony about staying with Mrs. Akl was not material, and was a "trick question."

Chilton County Circuit Judge Sibley G. Reynolds is presiding over the case.

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